Australian coal miner Yancoal will shut its Donaldson mine in NSW's Hunter Valley, as it looks to cut costs amid a prolonged downturn in the sector.
Yancoal, which is controlled by Chinese coal giant Yanzhou, said the decision will affect jobs of about 92 of the 103 employees at the operation. The mine will move to care and maintenance in June 2016.
The company will try to redeploy as many employees as possible at the neighbouring Ashton coal mine, after voluntary redundancies are completed.
"The move to care and maintenance is in response to ongoing global market challenges as the operation considers the future development of new underground working areas," Yancoal said on Wednesday.
The announcement comes just two weeks after the Australian company secured $US950 million ($A1.32 billion) through a new debt financing deal, under which it handed over control of three of its Hunter Valley mines - Ashton, Austar and Donaldson - to a consortium of China-based lenders.
Yancoal on Monday reported a full year loss of $291.2 million and said it expected coal production to be lower this year.
Coal producers have been grappling with an extended slide in global prices since 2012, due to weakening demand in China and steady supply growth.
Prices for both thermal and metallurgical coal currently hover near decade lows.
Donaldson's underground Abel mine produced 1.34 million tonnes of thermal and semi-soft coking coal in 2015, which is exported through the Newcastle Port.
Yancoal operates seven coking and thermal coal mines across NSW and Queensland.
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